Demand for Internet and software engineers rose by 12% and 10%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2013, reports Etosia Human Resources Ltd. Demand was highest in cloud, storage, analysis, video content distribution, information security, cyber, and mobile, which accounted for 18% of total demand for high-tech workers during the quarter.
A major sector during the quarter was algorithms, especially for data mining, image processing, computer vision, and machine learning. Demand for engineers for Ruby and Python dynamic Internet languages was also heavy, as well as for client developers with HTML5 specialization.
"The turnaround in demand for engineers and junior managers by the semiconductor industry was especially interesting," said Etosia CEO Eyal Solomon. "In the past two years, demand for engineers and managers in this industry slumped, including by over 10% in 2012. This trend has reversed. The semiconductor industry, which has signed several big exits in the past two years, opened 2013 with a 9% jump in demand for workers, compared with the fourth quarter of 2012."
Demand was mainly led by industry giants, such as Marvell Technology Group (Nasdaq: MRVL) and Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), which are expanding their development centers in Israel, and are seeking hardware development and embed software engineers for new projects launched this year.
Demand for mobile development workers was up 5% in the first quarter, compared with the preceding quarter, demand for software engineers was up 3%, demand for Internet developers was up 1.5%, and demand for quality control engineers was up 1%. Project managers were the only skill which saw a drop in demand, of 2%.
Salaries, however, were stagnant in the first quarter, rising 1-2%, depending on the category. The gross salary of a processor tester with four years experience was NIS 22,000, and an RF engineer with four years experience was up to NIS 21,000. Mobile developers and clinical and regulation employees enjoyed an average pay hike of 2.5% in the first quarter.
Etosia added that an information system analyst with four years experience earned NIS 12,000-15,000; a systems manager with 5-8 years experience earned NIS 15,000-18,000; and an IT MNG with 5-8 years experience earned up to NIS 27,000. In software, a dot.net language developer with 5-8 years experience earned up to NIS 24,000, and a web developer with 5-8 years experience earned up to NIS 22,000.
"The average time to fill a position in high tech during the first quarter was six weeks, and the voluntary departure rate was 3%," said Solomon. The average salary in high rose by 1.6%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 19, 2013
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